Job #1 for the Texas legislature in 2007 needs to be taking the authority to investigate public corruption out of the local prosecutor's office in Austin and placing it with the state Attorney General where it belongs.

Look at what Ronnie Earle is up to now.

The Texas prosecutor who secured an indictment of Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) on money-laundering charges broadened the scope of his inquiry into election spending yesterday, demanding documents related to funds that passed through a nonprofit organization, the U.S. Family Network.

The group, which was founded in 1996 by DeLay's then-chief of staff, Edwin A. Buckham, received $500,000 in 1999 from the National Republican Congressional Committee and used some of the money to finance radio ads attacking Democrats. The Federal Election Commission fined the party in 2004 for its role in the funding.

The prosecutor, Ronnie Earle, sent subpoenas yesterday to Buckham; the group's former president, Christopher Geeslin; the NRCC; and the treasurer of DeLay's leadership political action committee, Americans for a Republican Majority.

The subpoenas asked for all documents related to the $500,000 contribution, including any correspondence involving DeLay or Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe public officials and other crimes this week. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the largest donors to the U.S. Family Network were all associated with Abramoff. They contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the group before it folded in 2001.

Earle, an elected district attorney in Travis County, Tex., did not reveal in the subpoenas why he believes he has jurisdiction over the campaign spending. Carl Forti, a spokesman for the NRCC, told the Associated Press, "I'm going to call Roswell and warn them that Ronnie Earle is on the witch hunt for the Martians they have there," referring to the New Mexico city famous for an alleged UFO landing.

And that is precisely the problem with his actionsin this case -- Ronnie Earle is making it up as he goes along, just as he did with his original charges brought as part of his five days of grand jury shopping.

DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, has this to say.

DeLay's lead attorney, Dick DeGuerin, called Thursday's subpoenas "more opportunism" by Earle.

"He's just following the news," said DeGuerin. "What does it have to do with whether money that came to candidates in Texas was corporate or individually donated?"

Its all part of Earle's strategy to destroy Tom DeLay by any means available. I suspect the next step will be to demand that the trial be delayed until he gets the records and has time to thoroughly examine them -- right to a speedy trial be damned.

And remember -- this is the same prosecutor who subpoenaed membership and donation lists from groups that engaged in constitutionally protected political speech criticizing his conduct in the DeLay case. Ronnie Earle is simply a power-drunk partisan hack.

PREVIOUS POSTS:
Ronnie Earle's Strategy -- Delay DeLay! Delay DeLay!
Another Ronnie Earle Fishing Expedition
More Delay In DeLay Case
Latest DeLay Bid For Immediate Trial
No Due Process For DeLay
DeLay Screwed By Judge Priest
Ronnie Earle's Assault On Free Speech
DeLay Team Targets Ronnie Earle's Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Ronnie Earle Goes Fishing
So Much For A Right To A Speedy Trial
A Victory For DeLay
DeLay Wants No Delay
Plea Possibility Considered
I Love It!
Earle Offered Plea Bargain
Evidence? Ronnie Doesn't Need No Stinking Evidence!
Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Grand Jury Shopping
Liberal Austin Paper Criticizes Earle
A Note On The New DeLay Indictments
"The Law And The Truth On My Side"
Ronnie Earle Whitewash In Washington Post
Prosecutorial Misconduct?

Posted by: Greg at 07:22 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Later this year, in Turkey.

The spiritual leader of the world's 200 million-plus Orthodox Christians said Thursday that he is eager to meet with Pope Benedict XVI sometime in the coming year in an effort to heal the long-standing rift between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Visiting this heavily Greek community northwest of Tampa for the annual Feast of the Epiphany celebration, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I told reporters that the pope plans an official visit sometime this year to his headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey.

"We are in very good relationships with the present pope, Benedict XVI, and I'm in the very happy position to announce to you that we are going to restart the dialogue on the international global level between the Orthodox church and the Roman Catholic church," Bartholomew said in Greek through an interpreter, Archbishop Demetrios, who is primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.

The last official talks between the two churches five years ago broke off without an agreement on theological issues that have divided them for almost 1,000 years.

Bartholomew had received a warm reception from the Vatican after inviting the pope to Turkey for the Feast of St. Andrew in November. But they were subtly rebuffed when the government of 99 percent Muslim Turkey, instead of approving the visit, issued its own invitation to Benedict for an unspecified date in 2006.

Because Benedict is also the head of state of the Vatican, any visit to Turkey would need to be coordinated with the Turkish government.

Bartholomew said Thursday that "within this year that has already begun, the new pope is going to visit officially the ecumenical patriarchy."

May this meeting heal the rift that divides the most ancient seats of the Christian faith.

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After spending over a half-million dollars on a remodeling project for her aides during a budget crisis, now Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is complaining that the federal government is not giving her and her state enough money.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco complained on Thursday that Louisiana is not getting its fair share of hurricane aid from the federal government.

Blanco said that Louisiana suffered 70 percent of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina but that it is not getting an equivalent amount in aid.

"We are all American citizens, we cannot allow ourselves to be treated like second-class citizens," the governor said during an update on rebuilding to the New Orleans city council.

Sam Jones, Blanco's deputy director of community programs, pointed out that Louisiana got only $6.2 billion out of $11.5 billion in Community Development Block Grants that were recently approved by Congress and President Bush.

By my math, that is 54% of the funds going to Louisiana. But since Gov. Blank-stare and her clleagues in Louisiana have done 90% of the complaining, I think that everything averages out just fine.

She also shows why the future federal response to disasters should be "Hope you have insurance -- y'all are on your own."

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The other day, while talking about Carole Keeton StrayhornÂ’s defection, I commented on a possible runoff election for governor.

I was wrong to have done so. While so many other offices require a majority to win, that office does not. The Chronicle points this out in an editorial today

The truth is that no one knows how Strayhorn's candidacy will shape the race. Strayhorn's entry means that any candidate with a plurality will win the election; no runoff is needed.

I acknowledge my mistake – and wonder how wild and woolly a ride we are going to have between now and November.

Posted by: Greg at 11:09 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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(UPDATED 1/6/06 -- SCROLL DOWN)

Michael Vick is the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. His little brother Marcus is the quarterback of the Virginia Tech Hokies. Hopefully the school will have the integrity to make Marcus the FORMER quarterback of the Hokies.

Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick may face disciplinary action yet again in the wake of actions in MondayÂ’s Gator Bowl that athletic director Jim Weaver called unsportsmanlike and unacceptable.

Late in the first half against Louisville, Vick looked down, paused and stomped on the back of the knee of Elvis Dumervil — the Cardinals’ national Defensive Player of the Year.

Hokies quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers yelled at Vick during the game and was critical of his actions in interviews with the media afterward. With a day to review the play, Weaver weighed in.

“The unsportsmanlike conduct of quarterback Marcus Vick ... is unacceptable behavior and contrary to the Hokies Respect Campaign,” Weaver said in a written release. “Such on-field action is not reflective of Virginia Tech football nor of the values we hold at Virginia Tech. I and my colleagues in central administration are embarrassed, and this athletic administration will not condone such acts of unsportsmanlike conduct. We will review and assess this incident further and deal with it accordingly.”

Marcus has hardly been a model of decorum during his college career.

During his stay in Blacksburg, the junior has appeared in court for charges that include reckless driving, possession of marijuana and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. HeÂ’s had to perform community service, attend drug counseling and forfeit his driverÂ’s license for eight months.

He’s a convicted criminal — purportedly rehabilitated — but also Virginia Tech’s All-ACC quarterback. He rallied the Hokies to a comeback Gator Bowl victory to cap a fine season. But it came a year after he served a semester-long suspension from school that cost him the entire 2004 season for prior indiscretions.

Taking into account the school’s comments in 2004 when he was suspended, along with Weaver’s statement Tuesday, Vick’s future with the team is uncertain. The day in August of 2004 when Vick was suspended, Tech president Charles Steger said that if Vick returned to the school and team, it would be a “last-chance opportunity.”

Steger added, “If there is any more trouble, his Virginia Tech career is effectively ended.”

His blanket statement did not indicate whether on-field infractions were included.

Not that the school has held him to that high of a standard thus far this year.

What is clear is that Vick has fallen short of his stated goal from that day. “I will work hard to improve myself as a person,” he said then. “I want to bring pride to the Hokies. I want to bring pride to the Vick name.”

But there wasn’t much pride in his apology earlier this season for flipping off fans in the West Virginia stands. Nor was there much glory in being called “a no-character individual” by Dumervil after the latest game and drawing reviews like the one from Rogers.

The time has come for officials at Virginia Tech to act. Dump Marcus Vick from the team, Yank his scholarship, and tell him he has until sundown to get out of Blacksburg.

UPDATE -- 1/6/06: Much to their credit, Virginia Tech has thrown Vick off the team.

Virginia Tech on Friday kicked embattled quarterback Marcus Vick off the football team, citing the cumulative effects of numerous legal transgressions and his unsportsmanlike conduct in the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl.

The announcement from university president Charles Steger came on the same day that coach Frank Beamer met with Vick and his mother in their Hampton Roads home, the school said in a new release. Beamer informed them of the decision during the meeting.

Vick, who already was on a short string after being suspended from school in 2004 for several legal problems, came under new and intense scrutiny this week after he was caught on tape stomping on the left calf of an opponent during the Gator Bowl.

No flag was called on the play, but Vick did not help himself by claiming it was accidental, even though the frequently shown replay betrayed that claim. He further hurt his cause by claiming to have apologized to Louisville All-American defensive end Elvis Dumervil for the incident, but Dumervil said no such apology ever was offered.

Then, on Friday, even more legal trouble for the junior surfaced when it was revealed that he had been stopped for speeding and driving on a suspended license in Hampton on Dec. 17, Cpl. James West said. His license had been taken away in August 2004 when he was cited for reckless driving and marijuana possession in New Kent.

That means that Marcus Vick has three choices.

Vick said before the Hokies' 35-24 comeback victory in the Gator Bowl that he planned to return for his senior season with the Hokies. Now, his choices are to declare for the NFL Draft by the Jan. 15 deadline, transfer to a Division I-AA school so he can play next season or transfer to a Division I-A school and sit out a year.

NFL teams with any class have only one choice -- refuse to draft him (that means he will probably end up as an Oakland Raider, since they condone lawlessness and rule breaking).

His antics may have seriously harmed his NFL prospects.

One NFL general manager, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Vick hasn't entered the draft, said the quarterback's draft prospects would depend on how he looks in pre-draft workouts and how he answers teams' questions about his past off-field troubles.

NFL teams will be worried about Vick's off-field problems, the general manager said, but might take a chance on drafting him because of his obvious skill. The general manager said his early guess is that Vick would be a mid- to late-round selection in the seven-round draft, but he pointed out that one team willing to take a risk can change that forecast.

I offer only two words to any pro team thingking about spending a draft pick on this guy -- Lawrence Phillips.

UPDATE -- 1/7/06: Well, Vick's initial plan of action is to go pro.

Friday night, Vick told The Virginian-Pilot that he would turn professional.

“It’s not a big deal. I’ll just move on to the next level, baby” he said when spotted at a Virginia Beach restaurant.

Asked if that meant he would enter the NFL draft, he said, “Yeah, definitely.”

I hope you get picked last and earn the title of "Mr. Irrelevant", baby.

LINK TO: Southern Appeal

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So he gives a guy who raped a girl repeatedly over a four-year span before her 10th birthday only sixty days in jail so he can seek treatment when he gets out.

There was outrage Wednesday when a Vermont judge handed out a 60-day jail sentence to a man who raped a little girl many, many times over a four-year span starting when she was seven.

The judge said he no longer believes in punishment and is more concerned about rehabilitation.

Prosecutors argued that confessed child-rapist Mark Hulett, 34, of Williston deserved at least eight years behind bars for repeatedly raping a littler girl countless times starting when she was seven.

But Judge Edward Cashman disagreed explaining that he no longer believes that punishment works.

"The one message I want to get through is that anger doesn't solve anything. It just corrodes your soul," said Judge Edward Cashman speaking to a packed Burlington courtroom. Most of the on-lookers were related to a young girl who was repeatedly raped by Mark Hulett who was in court to be sentenced.

The sex abuse started when the girl was seven and ended when she was ten.

Prosecutors were seeking a sentence of eight to twenty years in prison, in part, as punishment.

"Punishment is a valid purpose," Chittenden Deputy Prosecutor Nicole Andreson argued to Judge Edward Cashman.

"The state recognizes that the court may not agree or subscribe to that method of sentencing but the state does. The state thinks that it is a very important factor for the court to consider," Andreson added.

But Judge Cashman explained that he is more concerned that Hulett receive sex offender treatment as rehabilitation. But under Department of Corrections classification, Hulett is considered a low-risk for re-offense so he does not qualify for in-prison treatment. So the judge sentenced him to just 60 days in prison and then Hulett must complete sex treatment when he gets out or face a possible life sentence.

I’ve got a better idea – make this child rapist serve the full 20 years in the general population. He’ll probably get treatment "sex offender treatment" there that will leave him disinclined to repeat his crimes, and he might just learn to empathize with his helpless victim and potential future victims.

Or perhaps Judge Cashman has a granddaughter who needs a roommate.

In any event, Judge Cashman needs to be removed from the bench by any means available.

Posted by: Greg at 11:01 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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IÂ’d be embarrassed to bring a claim like this in court. Clearly some folks have no pride.

A consumer group is demanding that Frito-Lay put warning labels on chips with the fat substitute olestra or face a lawsuit by a Massachusetts woman who says she got stomach cramps and had to use the bathroom quickly after eating the snacks.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest said Wednesday that 30-year-old Lori Perlow of Braintree, Mass., would sue Frito-Lay under a consumer-friendly deceptive-advertising law in the Bay State.

Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo Inc., said warning labels are not needed for its Light lines of potato and corn chips.

"It's an extremely safe product, well-tested," said Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez. "If the law says we don't have to have (a label), we don't see the need for it either."

The Food and Drug Administration approved olestra, made by Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co., in 1996 but required products with the fake fat to carry a label warning that they could cause cramps and diarrhea. The requirement was lifted in 2003 after the agency determined that any ill effects of olestra were mild and rare.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has campaigned against olestra for many years and opposed the lifting of the warning label. Its director of litigation, Stephen Gardner, accused Frito-Lay of trying to hide the consequences of eating products with olestra despite more than 20,000 consumer complaints.

In a letter to the company Wednesday, Gardner said Perlow experienced cramps and gas for several hours after eating Ruffles Light cheddar potato chips. Perlow said she avoided eating Wow! chips because of olestra but didn't realize Ruffles Light chips also contained the fake fat.

So what we have here is the Center for Pseudo-Science Against the Public Interest using litigation to achieve a regulation that it could not obtain through legislation or other democratic means. HereÂ’s hoping the courts impose serious sanctions on the group, their litigant, and their lawyers.

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That was my response to this post title over at Michelle Malkin's most excellent blog.

THE KOS-MALKIN-NATIONAL REVIEW CONVERGENCE

Unfortunately, the post deals with a real bonehead move on the part of the Bush Administration that does nothing to enhance (and probably harms) our domestic security.

The recess appointment of Julie Myers to head DHS's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement sucks. It's a bad move--especially now, when the White House is touting its commitment to fighting the War on Terror and securing the homeland. To quote VP Dick Cheney: "Either we are serious about fighting this war or we are not."

Myers' recess appointment, sorry to say, is a joke.

Gotta agree.

Posted by: Greg at 11:33 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Multiple brain surgeries in a matter of hours are never a good thing.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke Wednesday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.

Doctors stopped the bleeding after more than six hours of surgery ended Thursday morning, but he was sent back to the operating room when a CT scan revealed that he required more treatment, said Hadassah Hospital Director Shlomo Mor-Yosef.

Calling Sharon's condition "serious," he said the operation was expected to last several more hours. Mor-Yosef said the prime minister was still on a respirator.

Pray for Ariel Sharon. Pray for his family and his nation. And pray for a true peace in that troubled region of the world.

Posted by: Greg at 11:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hey, its not like a $700,000 understatement of contributions from one event is a big deal, is it?

A fund-raising committee for Senator Clinton's 2000 campaign has agreed to pay a $35,000 civil penalty and to concede that reports it made to the federal government understated by more than $700,000 donations to a California celebrity gala held to benefit her Senate bid.

The agreement between the committee, New York Senate 2000, and the Federal Election Commission ends the campaign finance regulation agency's inquiry into a complaint filed in 2001 by an entrepreneur who financed the fund-raising concert, Peter Paul.

"The civil payment assessed to New York Senate 2000 resolves the question of underreported in-kind contributions, and there will be no further action on this matter," an attorney for the fundraising committee, Marc Elias, said.

The conciliation agreement, ap proved at a Federal Election Commission meeting last month, has not yet been made public. However, three sources with knowledge of the terms outlined the deal to The New York Sun.

Under the agreement, the committee will amend its public reports to show that Paul's in-kind gifts to the fund-raising concert were understated by $721,895. The committee and its treasurer, Andrew Grossman, agreed that there was probable cause to believe that the filings violated federal campaign finance law. However, the committee claimed that it relied on "reasonable processes" to verify the data it filed.

And to think we kept hearing that there was noting to the Peter Paul scandal.

Not that we're going to hear a word from the MSM about the misconduct -- or from the leadership of the Democrats -- about campaign corruption.

Posted by: Greg at 11:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In a stunning comeback led by junior quarterback Vince Young, the Texas Longhorns snapped the 34-game winning streak of the USC Trojans and seized the title of National Champions!

PASADENA, Calif. -- Thirty six years in waiting. Texas won tonight's Rose Bowl and the national championship in a spectacular 41-38 comeback win over USC.

Quarterback Vince Young was the difference-maker, scoring the winning touchdown in the dying seconds en route to a 200-yard rushing performance. With nineteen seconds on the clock, Young made a 9-yard dash count and added the two-play for good measure to seal the win.

Earlier, the Trojans gained some breathing room with 6:42 left in the game when quarterback Matt Leinart hooked up with Dwayne Jarrett on a 22-yard play for a 38-26 lead, but the Longhorns responded immediately with a 17-yard rushing touchdown from Vince Young with 4:03 remaining.

Just look at the stats put up by Vince Young, whose effort tonight makes you question why the Heisman Trophy went to USC running back Reggie Bush (with his fellow Trojan, QB Matt Leinart) rather than the Longhorn quarterback, who finished third in the balloting.

Texas Passing

Young

C/ATT -- 30/40

YDS -- 267

TD -- 0

INT -- 0

Texas Rushing
Young
CAR -- 20
YDS -- 200
TD -- 3
LG -- 45

I'm not surprised by the outcome, having seen Vince Young do something like this once before, in 2001, to a team that everyone said was better than his. His performance was amazing.

One of the most incredible high school football games of all-time was played last Friday at the Houston Astrodome. Houston Madison with their All-American quarterback Vince Young met Galena Park North Shore, the No. 1 5A team in Texas and the No. 5 team in the country by USA TODAY.

North Shore scored 58 points and had 605 yards of total offense, but lost to Young and his Madison team by an amazing 61-58 score. Madison managed "only" 530 yards of total offense. Both teams came into the 5A quarterfinals with perfect 12-0 records.

Young, as expected, was brilliant, and he combined with Courtney Lewis (5-10, 180, 4.4) to overwhelm the overmatched Mustangs defense. The Madison quarterback completed 13 of 20 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns and added another 192 yards rushing with three more scores. Lewis scored five touchdowns and also rushed for 129 yards."

That night I left the Astrodome in tears, having watched young men for whom I cared deeply lose a hard-fought game. Tonight my tears are tears of joy at seeing Vince Young lead a team to victory.

Hook 'Em, Horns!

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When the city of Costa Mesa decided to allow its police to enforce violations of immigration law found in the course of other police work, it provoked quite a controversy.

Activists clashed in Costa Mesa on Tuesday night over the city's decision to become the nation's first authorizing its police department to enforce federal immigration laws.

A 3-2 vote last month to train police officers to work with federal immigration officials and sheriff's deputies to determine the immigration status of suspects arrested for other crimes has made the city a battleground in the national controversy over immigration policy.

Mayor Allan Mansoor, who proposed the idea, has stressed that enforcement will focus on those accused of serious crimes and that no random sweeps will occur.

"The public has been demanding this," said Mansoor, who is also an Orange County sheriff's deputy.

About 80 activists massed before Tuesday's council meeting, singing in Spanish and carrying hand-painted signs reading "Nobody Is Illegal" and "Mansoor Is a Bigot." Other signs proclaimed the United States the property of Mexico and Americans as the interlopers.

Some 40 opponents of illegal immigration also gathered, some shouting, "America is a nation of laws!"

I have only one thing to say to the border jumpers and their supporters -- INTERLOPE THIS!

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What will this mean?

One of the most controversial figures on the world stage, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, has suffered a massive stroke and is undergoing surgery to deal with a cerebral hemorrhage.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a "significant" stroke with "massive bleeding" in his brain late Wednesday night, according to an official at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem and Sharon's authority has been transferred to Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Sharon was rushed to the hospital shortly before 11 P.M. Wednesday night after complaining of chest pains, less than three weeks after suffering a mild stroke and the day before he had been set to undergo a heart procedure.

In a brief statement outside the Jerusalem hospital Wednesday night, Dr. Shlomo Mor-Yosef said Sharon had suffered "a significant stroke," adding that he was "under anesthetic and receiving breathing assistance."

A few minutes later, Mor-Yosef emerged to say that initial tests showed Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding inside his brain. Addressing reporters in English, Mor-Yosef said Sharon had "massive bleeding and was being transferred to an operating theater."

Channel 2 television said Sharon was suffering from paralysis in his lower body. Analysts on local television stations speculated that his life could be in danger.

According to one senior doctor, who based his diagnosis on the information released by Sharon's doctors, the prime minister's chances to return to full functioning are not high.

The doctor said that in many similar cases, a cerebral hemorrhage means the patient's life is under significant threat.

Let us offer prayers for his recovery.

This article looks at the political implications.

Others commenting include GOPBloggers, Blogs for Bush, All Things Beautiful,. The Political Pitbull and Allison Kaplan Sommer of An Unsealed Room

UPDATE: When you see this headline, you know that things look really bleak.

Sharon Reportedly Alive After Surgery

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive, life-threatening stroke Wednesday and underwent lengthy surgery to drain blood from his brain after falling ill at his ranch. Powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.

Israeli TV stations reported that Sharon was alive after an operation that lasted more than six hours. At daybreak, Army Radio reported that Sharon was undergoing a CT scan to determine if the bleeding in his brain had been stopped.

An ambulance brought Sharon to the Jerusalem hospital only hours before the hard-charging, overweight, 77-year-old Israeli leader had been scheduled to undergo a procedure to seal a hole in his heart that contributed to a mild stroke on Dec. 18.

Israel Radio quoted an unidentified Israeli health official as saying that Sharon's prospects of a full recovery were slim.

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Nah -- they were just bored. So even though the engaged in an assault on the religious symbols, beliefs and sentiments of the community, they will only get lesser charges.

Four teenagers charged yesterday in the destruction of a 15-foot crucifix at a borough cemetery and the theft of more than 25 infant Jesus figures from manger scenes "wanted to see the baby Jesuses burn," police said.

Police were still digging for information yesterday, but two of the suspects told them they did it out of boredom.

"They were looking for things to do. They told us, "We were going to have a baby-Jesus-burning party,' " said Detective Ken Kelly of the Sayreville Police Department. "The reason they picked (the Jesus figures) was because they looked real."

He recalled another statement by one of the suspects: "We just wanted to see their heads burning."

Nope, no hate there.

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I guess that when ACORN calls for justice for workers and the poor, they donÂ’t mean to include their own employees.

According to a Dec. 25 report in the Boston Globe, the Democratic Party is joining forces with the activist group ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) to place initiatives on state ballots this fall to raise the minimum wage. The idea is to energize the poor to vote for Democratic candidates, as well as the initiative.

ACORN's involvement in this campaign is amusing because a few years ago the group sued the state of California in order to be exempted from its minimum wage requirement, which was higher than the federal government's. In its appellate brief, ACORN acknowledged that the more it had to pay each worker, the fewer such workers it would be able to hire. Of course, the same thing is true for businesses, as well -- something minimum wage advocates refuse to admit.

Furthermore, ACORN argued that paying its workers less than the minimum wage aided its organizing efforts. Said the brief, "A person paid limited sums of money will be in a better position to empathize with and relate to the low and moderate membership and constituency of ACORN." Somehow I doubt that a business catering to those with low incomes would get any sympathy from ACORN if it made the same argument.

Indeed, ACORN has a history of denying its workers rights that it demands from corporations. For example, its "People's Platform" says that all workers have the right to organize. Yet, when its own workers have tried to do so, ACORN strenuously fought them.

In 2001, all of the workers in ACORN's Seattle office signed cards stating a desire to join the Industrial Workers of the World, a labor union with a long history of radicalism. ACORN's management refused to recognize the union and locked out the workers. Eventually, ACORN relented and paid a $20,000 settlement. Afterward, an IWW organizer said, "This underscores further the doublespeak that causes their workers to unionize or resign in disgust, and it shows that (ACORN's leaders) have learned nothing about workers' rights."

That same year, ACORN intimidated and fired workers in its Dallas office for threatening to organize. In 2003, the National Labor Relations Board found that it had violated the law. Said the NLRB, "By interrogating employees about their union activities, by informing employees that other employees have been discharged because of the union, by threatening employees that selecting the union to represent them will be futile and by threatening employees with discharge, respondent has violated section 8(a) of the act."

But then again, we shouldnÂ’t be surprised. Liberals are best known for being generous with the money and property of other people, not their own.

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When I can agree with Charles Rangel AND Donald Rumsfeld on an issue, it must be important.

And this one certainly is, as a matter of justice and historical honesty.

The U.S. secretary of defense and one of the most prominent members of the Congressional Black Caucus, usually at odds over military matters and just about everything else, are on the same side in an effort to recognize the achievements of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

The Tuskegee Airmen were an elite group of 450 African American fighter pilots who broke the military's racial barrier in a training program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941, the same year the U.S. entered World War II.

Legislation to recognize the Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal still needs more than 80 votes to achieve a two-thirds passage in the House. The bill was sponsored by liberal Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and has been endorsed by Bush administration Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Senate version has already passed.

According to the House Office of the Clerk, the Congressional Gold Medal was originally meant to recognize those who participated in the Revolutionary War, but "Congress broadened the scope of the medal to include actors, authors, entertainers, musicians, pioneers in aeronautics and space, explorers, lifesavers, notables in science and medicine, athletes, humanitarians, public servants and foreign recipients."

In order to award a Congressional Gold Medal, a bill must be passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate.

At a time when African Americans were not allowed into combat, "the Tuskegee Airmen inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces, paving the way for full racial integration in the Armed Forces," according to Rangel's bill.

These were men my father held up to me as heroes. They were certainly pioneers.

We need to see this honor bestowed while some of them are still left alive.

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If the liberals have an ounce of integrity, this should stop any plans for a filibuster.

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito received a unanimous well-qualified rating from the American Bar Association on Wednesday, giving his nomination momentum as the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings next week.

The rating came after a vote of an ABA committee and will be delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will launch Alito's confirmation hearings on Monday. Alito will face almost an hour of questioning from each of the 18 senators on the committee.

The ABA rating _ the highest _ is the same that Alito received back in when President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, nominated him to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

There was one recusal from the voting committee, the ABA said. The group will testify next week during Alito's confirmation hearing about how it arrived at the rating.

For more than 50 years, the ABA has evaluated the credentials of nominees for the federal bench, though the nation's largest lawyers' group has no official standing in the process. Supreme Court nominees get the most scrutiny.

Samuel Alito should become the next justice of the United States Supreme Court. Any attempted filibuster is now grounds for the nuclear option.

Posted by: Greg at 12:21 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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If the liberals have an ounce of integrity, this should stop any plans for a filibuster.

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito received a unanimous well-qualified rating from the American Bar Association on Wednesday, giving his nomination momentum as the Senate prepares for confirmation hearings next week.

The rating came after a vote of an ABA committee and will be delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will launch Alito's confirmation hearings on Monday. Alito will face almost an hour of questioning from each of the 18 senators on the committee.

The ABA rating _ the highest _ is the same that Alito received back in when President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, nominated him to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

There was one recusal from the voting committee, the ABA said. The group will testify next week during Alito's confirmation hearing about how it arrived at the rating.

For more than 50 years, the ABA has evaluated the credentials of nominees for the federal bench, though the nation's largest lawyers' group has no official standing in the process. Supreme Court nominees get the most scrutiny.

Samuel Alito should become the next justice of the United States Supreme Court. Any attempted filibuster is now grounds for the nuclear option.

Posted by: Greg at 12:21 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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They found one miner dead earlier this evening near Tallmansville. Twelve remained missing.

The body of a missing coal miner was found Tuesday night as rescuers pushed deep underground in a desperate search for 12 other miners trapped by an explosion 2 miles inside the Sago Mine.

And then came the miracle that so many had begun to give up hope for.

THEY ARE ALIVE!

Twelve men walked out of that mine alive tonight.

Twelve miners caught in an explosion in a coal mine were found alive today, more than 41 hours after the blast, family members said.

Bells at a church where relatives had been gathering rang out as family members ran out screaming in jubilation.

To God be the glory -- and to the many who worked to rescue these men, our most heart-felt "Well done!"

And yet we also mourn with those who have lost a loved one or friend -- for we cannot forget that there is the one miner who met his end in this explosion.

UPDATE: And from the great joy of hearing that these men all survived, we now sink to great sadness as we learn that the reports were wrong. Only one survivor has been found, and he is hospitalized in critical condition.

SAGO, W.Va., Jan. 4 -- Great joy turned suddenly to deep sorrow Wednesday morning when stunned family members were told that 12 of the 13 miners trapped 13,000 feet into a mountainside since early Monday were dead rather than alive, as they, and the world, had been told hours earlier.

The first announcement, of a "miracle," was the result of a "miscommunication," a company official said.

I don't understand how this could have happened. How do you "miscommunicate" such news?

And yet I think my closing thoughts from the original post are still valid.

To God be the glory -- and to the many who worked to rescue these men, our most heart-felt "Well done!"

And yet we also mourn with those who have lost a loved one or friend...

And we pray as well for the sole survivor as he fights to live, and for those who still cling to hope that he will survive.

And we just have to ask the question that all such tragedies bring -- "Why?"

Posted by: Greg at 10:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Chris Elam of Safety for Dummies is chasing down news that former congressman Steve Stockman has declared as an independent in the 22nd Congressional District, so that voters have a solid conservative with name recognition in the event that Tom DeLay leaves the House of Representatives for one reason or another.

Props to Burnt Orange Report for breaking this unnoticed bit of news!

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Now Ronnie Earle is filing paperwork to oppose Tom DeLay's expedited appeal.

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is trying to bully his way through the court system to further his own political ambitions, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle said in court documents that the Republican is "attempting to leapfrog" over the usual court procedures by asking the state's highest criminal court to dismiss all charges against him or to order a trial right away.

DeLay was forced to step aside as majority leader after he was indicted on money laundering and conspiracy charges in September.

He has been pressing the state's highest criminal court to address the charges quickly because he wants to regain his post before his colleagues call for new leadership elections later this month.

The case has been on hold while prosecutors appeal a judge's dismissal of some of the charges.

Uh, excuse me. Where does Ronnie Earle, the politically motivated partisan prosecutor with a history of going after political opponents, have any business criticizing anyone for being a bully who is using the courts to further their own political ambitions? That is the life story of Ronnie Earle summed up in one phrase!

And Dick DeGuerin is spot-on in his analysis of why the case needs to be expedited.

DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said the case affects voters in DeLay's Houston-area congressional district and Republican members of Congress who elected DeLay as majority leader.

"A county prosecutor has thrown a monkey wrench into the functioning of the United States Congress, and that's something that needs to be resolved," DeGuerin said.

Filing for the primary ended yesterday. Ronnie Earle is trying to keep a cloud over DeLay through March -- and though November, if possible -- in an effort to orchestrate the defeat of a political enemy.

PREVIOUS POSTS:
Anotther Ronnie Earle Fishing Expedition
More Delay In DeLay Case
Latest DeLay Bid For Immediate Trial
No Due Process For DeLay
DeLay Screwed By Judge Priest
Ronnie Earle's Assault On Free Speech
DeLay Team Targets Ronnie Earle's Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Ronnie Earle Goes Fishing
So Much For A Right To A Speedy Trial
A Victory For DeLay
DeLay Wants No Delay
Plea Possibility Considered
I Love It!
Earle Offered Plea Bargain
Evidence? Ronnie Doesn't Need No Stinking Evidence!
Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Grand Jury Shopping
Liberal Austin Paper Criticizes Earle
A Note On The New DeLay Indictments
"The Law And The Truth On My Side"
Ronnie Earle Whitewash In Washington Post
Prosecutorial Misconduct?

Posted by: Greg at 04:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Let no opportunity pass by to throw some more dirt -- that seems to be Ronnie Earle's motto. Now he wants to investigate the Abramoff matter -- with a special focus on his favorite target, Congressman Tom DeLay.

The prosecutor in the Texas money laundering case against Rep. Tom DeLay issued subpoenas today looking for links between lobbyist Jack Abramoff and fundraising by the former majority leader.

District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued the subpoenas in Austin the same day that Abramoff pleaded guilty in Washington to federal charges of conspiracy, tax evasion and mail fraud.

What does he want?

In the Texas case, Earle sought records from Abramoff's former employers, legal firms Greenberg Traurig LLP and Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds, LLP. He also subpoenaed records from a lawyer for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, a former Abramoff client, and from a representative for the Barona Band of Mission Indians, a California tribe.

DeLay's attorney knows the score on this one.

DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin said Earle "goes where the fish bite."

"Ronnie Earle is an opportunist," DeGuerin said. "He issues subpoenas to try to make a connection between his case and the latest scandal, whatever it happens to be. The Abramoff thing is the latest he's doing. It has nothing to do with the case in Texas. Nothing. Zip."

Wanna bet he tries to use this new demand for evidence as a reason to abridge DeLay's constitutional right to a speedy trial?

PREVIOUS POSTS:
More Delay In DeLay Case
Latest DeLay Bid For Immediate Trial
No Due Process For DeLay
DeLay Screwed By Judge Priest
Ronnie Earle's Assault On Free Speech
DeLay Team Targets Ronnie Earle's Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Ronnie Earle Goes Fishing
So Much For A Right To A Speedy Trial
A Victory For DeLay
DeLay Wants No Delay
Plea Possibility Considered
I Love It!
Earle Offered Plea Bargain
Evidence? Ronnie Doesn't Need No Stinking Evidence!
Unethical Prosecutorial Conduct
Grand Jury Shopping
Liberal Austin Paper Criticizes Earle
A Note On The New DeLay Indictments
"The Law And The Truth On My Side"
Ronnie Earle Whitewash In Washington Post
Prosecutorial Misconduct?

Posted by: Greg at 02:49 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I was never a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I always admired the skill and class of Lynn Swann, the team's all-everything wide receiver during its glory days. He is now going to enter a new field -- politics.

A big day awaits Lynn Swann on Wednesday.

Swann planned to open a three-day state tour at a rally in Pittsburgh.

Swann, a wide receiver for the Steelers, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Aides declined to confirm the purpose of the tour, but Swann's political committee -- Team 88, named after his football jersey number -- has been raising money for 11 months. Swann has billed himself as a prospective candidate while courting GOP activists across the state.

"It might be easy to assume" the subject of Swann's announcement, acknowledged his campaign spokeswoman, Melissa Walters, who also referred to the upcoming flyover as an "announcement tour."

The 53-year-old Swann will be the last of the Republican hopefuls to make his candidacy official. Already declared are former Lieutenant Governor Bill Scranton, state Senator Jeffrey Piccola and retired business advocate Jim Panyard.

Good luck, Lynn.

Posted by: Greg at 02:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Police are investigating this act of vandalism against a controversial Catholic religious community.

A religious order's plans to build a community in rural McHenry County were greeted with heated opposition from neighbors before approval was granted last summer.

But even they were shocked by what vandals did to statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary at the Fraternite Notre Dame monastery on New Year's Eve.

Someone spray-painted "Killer," "KKK," "666," "Go away" and "Leave" on the figures. They wrote an obscene message in snow at the base of one statue and stole an American flag.

"It breaks our heart," Sister Mary Valerie said Monday. She is one of a half-dozen priests and nuns who moved into the monastery on the 65-acre site near Marengo last August.

But please notice the downplaying of the incident – whereas if this had been a mosque or synagogue we would be reading about FBI involvement and probable hate crime charges. The same would be true if such vandalism happened at a black church

Bu since this is only an assault on white Christians, I guess it just doesn’t merit such serious treatment.

Posted by: Greg at 10:57 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Police are investigating this act of vandalism against a controversial Catholic religious community.

A religious order's plans to build a community in rural McHenry County were greeted with heated opposition from neighbors before approval was granted last summer.

But even they were shocked by what vandals did to statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary at the Fraternite Notre Dame monastery on New Year's Eve.

Someone spray-painted "Killer," "KKK," "666," "Go away" and "Leave" on the figures. They wrote an obscene message in snow at the base of one statue and stole an American flag.

"It breaks our heart," Sister Mary Valerie said Monday. She is one of a half-dozen priests and nuns who moved into the monastery on the 65-acre site near Marengo last August.

But please notice the downplaying of the incident – whereas if this had been a mosque or synagogue we would be reading about FBI involvement and probable hate crime charges. The same would be true if such vandalism happened at a black church

Bu since this is only an assault on white Christians, I guess it just doesnÂ’t merit such serious treatment.

Posted by: Greg at 10:57 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Looks like he has lost his nerve – and his patriotism.

Rep. John Murtha, a key Democratic voice who favors pulling U.S. troops from Iraq, said in remarks airing on Monday that he would not join the U.S. military today.

A decorated Vietnam combat veteran who retired as a colonel after 37 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Murtha told ABC News' "Nightline" program that Iraq "absolutely" was a wrong war for President George W. Bush to have launched.

"Would you join (the military) today?," he was asked in an interview taped on Friday.

"No," replied Murtha of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees defense spending and one of his party's leading spokesmen on military issues.

"And I think you're saying the average guy out there who's considering recruitment is justified in saying 'I don't want to serve'," the interviewer continued.

"Exactly right," said Murtha.

Sort of speaks for itself, donÂ’t you think?

OTHER VOICES: Blogs for Bush, Macmind, A Blog for All, Irish Pennants, Confessions of a Pilgrim, 4thelittleguy, Publius Rendezvous">Publius Rendezvous, Pardon My English, Donklephant, Peat Blog, Tammy Bruce, Conservative Outpost.

Posted by: Greg at 10:55 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What is being hidden in the Barrett Report, the fruit of the special prosecutororial investigation of Henry Cisneros that has gone on for a decade?

The final report of David M. Barrett, an independent counsel appointed in 1995 to investigate potential felonies committed by one-time Clinton administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, is tentatively scheduled for release on Jan. 19, Barrett told FOXNews.com.

However, Barrett and others say, thanks to an amendment to the November judiciary appropriations bill, key elements in the final report, which was completed in August 2004 and has been sitting with a three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. ever since, may be heavily redacted before its release.

"As it currently stands, the report will not be released in its entirety," said Barrett, who didn't want to speculate why or which portions of the report may not be made public. One decade and some millions of taxpayers' dollars later, he said he is disappointed that the report may not reflect his careful and diligent efforts.

"I believe after 10 years and the expense of $22 million, the public has the right to see the entire report and make their own judgments," he said.

As the contents of the report have been sealed, Barrett is unable to offer details, but sources say the most serious of the allegations concerns, in part, the use of the Internal Revenue Service under the Clinton administration to intimidate political foes. The charges in the report could embarrass former members and associates of the Clinton White House, including former first lady and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., say the sources.

"Some people have said it contains some serious allegations, and when people see the report, they can decide for themselves," Barrett said.

There must be something in there that is embarrassing to someone in the Barrett Report. After all, there are certainly enough motions to redact information being filed.

In October, after voicing concerns that the report had yet to be released, Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa and Dorgan introduced an amendment to the judiciary appropriations bill that would have released all portions of the report, with deletions only for "clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy."

But the language worked out in the subsequent House-Senate conference and in the final bill gave much more discretion to the court to redact individuals' names, which critics contend, ensures that much of Section Five and the most serious charges would be left out of the final report.

Barrett said he is disappointed, but not surprised, at the developments. At least 146 motions have been filed by lawyers connected to the individuals cited in the report, which is reportedly 450 pages long with 2,600 footnotes, delaying its release.

Grassley, in his October remarks regarding the need for the report's imminent release, blamed "foot-dragging" by the lawyers for the individuals named in the report.

"It is the lawyers of the individuals named in the report who have been engaged in one sole pursuit: to foot-drag every inch of the way, filing every motion they can to delay, delay, delay," he said.

Strange, isn’t it, that no one is leaking THIS report, and that the press is not making an issue of the veil of secrecy around this information? It couldn’t be that the fact that this investigation deals with the Clinton Administration – and that Hillary! Is running for president – that causes the deafening silence on the issue?

Posted by: Greg at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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What is being hidden in the Barrett Report, the fruit of the special prosecutororial investigation of Henry Cisneros that has gone on for a decade?

The final report of David M. Barrett, an independent counsel appointed in 1995 to investigate potential felonies committed by one-time Clinton administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, is tentatively scheduled for release on Jan. 19, Barrett told FOXNews.com.

However, Barrett and others say, thanks to an amendment to the November judiciary appropriations bill, key elements in the final report, which was completed in August 2004 and has been sitting with a three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court of Appeals in Washington D.C. ever since, may be heavily redacted before its release.

"As it currently stands, the report will not be released in its entirety," said Barrett, who didn't want to speculate why or which portions of the report may not be made public. One decade and some millions of taxpayers' dollars later, he said he is disappointed that the report may not reflect his careful and diligent efforts.

"I believe after 10 years and the expense of $22 million, the public has the right to see the entire report and make their own judgments," he said.

As the contents of the report have been sealed, Barrett is unable to offer details, but sources say the most serious of the allegations concerns, in part, the use of the Internal Revenue Service under the Clinton administration to intimidate political foes. The charges in the report could embarrass former members and associates of the Clinton White House, including former first lady and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., say the sources.

"Some people have said it contains some serious allegations, and when people see the report, they can decide for themselves," Barrett said.

There must be something in there that is embarrassing to someone in the Barrett Report. After all, there are certainly enough motions to redact information being filed.

In October, after voicing concerns that the report had yet to be released, Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa and Dorgan introduced an amendment to the judiciary appropriations bill that would have released all portions of the report, with deletions only for "clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy."

But the language worked out in the subsequent House-Senate conference and in the final bill gave much more discretion to the court to redact individuals' names, which critics contend, ensures that much of Section Five and the most serious charges would be left out of the final report.

Barrett said he is disappointed, but not surprised, at the developments. At least 146 motions have been filed by lawyers connected to the individuals cited in the report, which is reportedly 450 pages long with 2,600 footnotes, delaying its release.

Grassley, in his October remarks regarding the need for the report's imminent release, blamed "foot-dragging" by the lawyers for the individuals named in the report.

"It is the lawyers of the individuals named in the report who have been engaged in one sole pursuit: to foot-drag every inch of the way, filing every motion they can to delay, delay, delay," he said.

Strange, isn’t it, that no one is leaking THIS report, and that the press is not making an issue of the veil of secrecy around this information? It couldn’t be that the fact that this investigation deals with the Clinton Administration – and that Hillary! Is running for president – that causes the deafening silence on the issue?

Posted by: Greg at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Roddy Stinson argues that Kinky FriedmanÂ’s 21% showing does not prove any such thing.

The only "serious" point that can be made about candidate Kinky is that he has become the poster child for the crippled Texas Democratic Party.

The most significant number in the Zogby poll wasn't Perry's 42 percent, but the measly 25 percent garnered by the Democrats' leading candidate, Chris Bell.

Whom did other Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents select?

Here's a clue:

Four years ago, in the state's top three races — governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. senator — the Democratic candidates received, respectively, 40 percent, 46 percent and 43 percent of the votes cast.

If you take 46 percent (the number of voters willing to vote Democratic in at least one statewide race) and subtract 25 percent (Bell's support), you get 21 percent ... Friedman's poll number.

Coincidence?

Hardly.

While Journal-Constitution writer Galloway and other reporters and pundits imply that Friedman's popularity signifies Texans' discontent with Republican rule in general and Gov. Rick Perry in particular, the opposite — discontent with the Texas Democratic Party — is closer to the truth.

The question is, will the addition of Carole Keeton McClellan Rylnader Strayhorn [YOUR LAST NAME HERE] to the race as an independent rather than a GOP primary contender take voters from Friedman and Bell – or from Perry. And will her presence bring about a runoff?

Posted by: Greg at 10:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Guillermo Martinez threw a rock at a Border Patrol agent while trying to jump the US border. The agent responded to this life-threatening assault by opening fire. The result? One dead violent immigration criminal.

Now the Mexican government, which protects its southern border, is using the incident to demand that the US not ratchet-up its own border security.

"This occurrence does no more than provide evidence that only a law that guarantees legal entry and is respectful of human rights can resolve the migratory problem both countries face," Ruben Aguilar, the chief spokesman for President Vicente Fox, said Monday.

Many Mexicans oppose the U.S. measure, which would build more border fences, make illegal entry a felony and enlist military and local police to help stop undocumented migrants.

Aguilar said the death of Guillermo Martinez showed that extending border walls will not curb illegal immigration.

Martinez died Saturday in a Tijuana hospital, the Baja California state attorney general's office said. He died one day after he was shot by a U.S. Border Patrol agent near a metal wall separating that city from San Diego, according to witnesses cited by Mexican officials.

Raul Martinez, a spokesman for the Border Patrol said the agent had been "assaulted by an individual who threw a large size rock."

"The agent, fearing for his life at that time, fired one round at the individual, who fled back to Mexico," Martinez said Monday.

The spokesman, who is not related to the dead 18-year-old, said U.S. investigators were unsure if the victim had been struck by the bullet because he crossed back into Mexican territory.

Mexico's federal Attorney General's Office said the probe was opened against "whomever is found to have been responsible," but did not name a suspect. Mexico generally does not try to apply its laws to events that occurred in other nations.

Investigate all you want – the government of Mexico has no authority in this case. And please consider Mexico’s own policies before demanding that we open the borders to any Juan, Jose, and Pedro who wants to come to this country.

Mexican officials have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to the House bill passed Dec. 16, which Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez branded as "stupid and underhanded." Fox has called it shameful.

Officials of Mexico's federal Human Rights Commission have acknowledged that Mexico already employs some of the same methods in its own territory. But Aguilar again attacked the U.S. measure Monday, saying "walls and police crackdowns never will resolve migration problems."

But we really know what the issue is all about. It isnÂ’t one dead border jumpe.

In 2004, Mexican migrants in the United States sent home more than $16 billion in remittances, according to Mexico's central bank, giving the nation its second biggest source of foreign currency after oil exports.

It is all about the cash.

Posted by: Greg at 10:48 AM | Comments (85) | Add Comment
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The Washington Post tells us today that there is a split on immigration.

When Congress returns to the unfinished business of immigration early in the new year, lawmakers will be trying to reconcile sometimes conflicting public attitudes on an issue that has become a crusade to some conservative Republicans but has defied effective solutions over the past three decades.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll taken in mid-December found Americans alarmed by the federal government's failure to do more to block the flow of illegal immigration and critical of the impact of illegal immigration on the country but receptive to the aspirations of undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States.

"You wonder why politicians are not always consistent," said Republican pollster Glen Bolger. "It's because public opinion's not always consistent."

Immigration still ranks below the war in Iraq, terrorism, health care and the economy on the public's list of priorities, but in many parts of the country -- not just those areas near the Mexican border -- it has become an issue of pressing significance because of its economic, racial and, more recently, national security implications.

If there is any consensus today, it is on the need for enhanced border security, driven not only by traditional concerns about jobs and the strains illegal immigrants put on state and local resources but also by newer worries that the porous border makes America more vulnerable to terrorists. The public and politicians are far more divided on the difficult question of how to treat the roughly 11 million illegal migrants already in the country.

In other words, there isn't as great a split as the Post seems to think there is. Border security and immigration reform are generally supported -- so we want to stop the border hemmoraging that has gone on for years. The only place for division is over what to do with those who have already jumped the fence or breast-stroked across the Rio Grande. We are not sure about amnest or enforcement.

And I understand the ambivalence. My students here in Houston are 50% Hispanic. Of those, at least half are the children of non-citizens, including a number of children who are in this country ilegally themselves. Do I wish to see my students and/or their families deported? For the most part, no I don't (I always have the kid I want deported to the third ring of Hades or beyond the orbit of Pluto) -- my love for these kids as individuals prevents me from taking such a position. But how do we then deal with the issue of their immigration status? That is the sort of issue that confounds American public opinion on the issue.

So I'll ask you -- how do we deal with the 11 million?

Posted by: Greg at 11:36 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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As expected, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton McClellan Rylander Strayhorn [YOUR LAST NAME HERE] has quit the GOP and is running for governor as an independent.

Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn ended speculation today by announcing she will run for governor against Gov. Rick Perry as an independent.

"It's time to shake Austin up," Strayhorn, who is now serving as a Republican officeholder, told reporters today, the filing deadline for the 2006 elections.

"Governor Perry may be doing the best he can, but after five years, we have learned he is not the strong leader we need to put Texas above politics," she added.

Satirist Kinky Friedman already has announced as an independent candidate for governor.

The major candidates in the Democratic primary are Chris Bell of Houston, a former congressman, and Bob Gammage, a former Houston congressman and Texas Supreme Court justice who now lives in Llano.

Strayhorn, who was first elected comptroller in 1998 as a Republican, had announced in June that she would challenge Perry for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. But last week she refused to dismiss speculation that she would run as an independent to avoid Perry's strong popularity in the GOP primary.

Let's face it -- Rick Perry has long had this thing sewn up. As a result, the only chance that Strayhorn ever had was a three-way primary that included Kay Bailey Hutchison. Kay decided to stay in the Senate, demolishing any chance that Perry would have lost in a primary dominated by the conservative wing of the party. After all, Carole has always been a moderate-to-liberal Republican, and was a Democrat not all that long ago.

I thnk that Chris Elam over at Safety for Dummies puts it best when he makes this observation.

[Y]ou were an opportunist who changed parties when the state's political landscape changed around you. You spent months and thousands of dollars running radio ads against Rick Perry, and his poll numbers went up.

You're in over your head, and you won't admit it. Now you're reduced to splitting the Kinky vote. Republicans won't touch you, and Democrats are unimpressed.

Enjoy retirement. Rick Perry sends his well wishes.

One son has left the Bush administration to work for your doomed campaign. I bet that your other son, Scott McClellan, is glad that he hasn't quit his day job as the president's Press Secretary.

And here are two pieces from Lone Star Times.

Posted by: Greg at 11:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Are we Western infidels supposed to close our eyes while young girls are beaten and abused to force them into unwanted arranged marriages?

DERBY, England -- Lina, a wide-eyed 18-year-old, is still trying to get the hang of freedom in 3-inch heels.

Until a month ago, Lina had never worn Western clothing. Her parents, immigrants from Pakistan, insisted she wear the jilbab, a head-to-toe covering favored by conservative Muslims.

When she turned 16, her parents informed her that she was "engaged" to her first cousin, a 21-year-old man she detested. When she balked, she said, her parents withdrew her from school and locked her in her room, where they told her she would remain until she consented.

"They put two padlocks on the door and they locked the windows," she said. They also installed spikes along the top of the backyard fence so she couldn't climb over.

Lina's imprisonment lasted nearly two years. The only time she was allowed out of her room was to do housework. There were frequent beatings, she said, and endless mental cruelties.

"My mom threatened me with a knife. They also cut my hair off."

One day, Lina saw an article in a women's magazine about a shelter in Derby for women who were victims of forced marriage. She called, and Jasvinder Sanghera, who runs the shelter, helped her plan an escape.

Lina's story is not unusual. Each year, hundreds of South Asian women living in Britain are forced into marriages. It is a growing problem that authorities have only recently begun to tackle.

This is not new, and happens all the time in the United States. I remember a classmate in college, an attractive Muslim girl who was born and raised in this country, facing a similar situation. After semester break, she simply did not come back to school. Some months later I ran into her again, working as a desk clerk at a local motel. She told me that her family had taken her to visit her father’s brother in Central America. She though nothing of allowing her father to carry her passport and tickets, and he always handled the money. When she arrived at the family home, she was informed that it was agreed she would marry her cousin and stay behind. When she refused, she was marooned by her parents in a foreign country with instructions to marry her cousin if she wished to ever see the United States again. Fortunately, the American Embassy was able to help her get home – but her parent’s refusal to allow her to retrieve any belongings from the house meant she had to drop out of school and take the hotel job.

There must be some way to stop such traffic in unwilling brides – in the western world, if not in countries where such barbaric customs remain.

Posted by: Greg at 11:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Israel claims that Arab citizens have equal rights in Israel. Now a young man is testing that claim by seeking to join the Israeli military as a pilot.

An 18-year-old youth from northern Israel is an outstanding student who completed his high school diploma with top grades. He is also a gifted civilian pilot. His dream is to become a pilot in the Israeli air force, but one thing may stand in his way: He is an Arab Muslim.

The young and motivated teen has already passed the IDF's first stages of the draft, and recently submitted a request to be recruited to the IAF's prestigious pilot training course, Israel's leading newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

If he succeeds, he is set to become the country's first Israeli-Arab military pilot.
"I ask that you allow me to fulfill my dream and my civil duty to serve in the armyÂ… my greatest dream and aspiration is to become a pilot. I feel I have the potential, the knowledge and the ability to serve in the IAF, or in any other elite unit," he wrote in his letter to the army.

That this young man is getting special scrutiny is somewhat disturbing. But he has one strong supporter – a major in the Israeli Air Force who was his flight instructor.

Luckily for the teen, he already has one devoted advocate who greatly supports his ambition to be recruited to the air force: Major Michael (res.) trained him to be a civilian pilot and has much confidence in his young student.

"I was amazed by his capability and love of flying. He learned to fly quickly, feels excellent while in the air, and the harder the maneuvers get, the more thrilled he is," Michael wrote in a recommendation letter submitted to the army.

"He functions well, is very bright and highly motivated to succeedÂ… I would very much like to see the army enabling him to make his dream come true and join one of the IDF's elite units, pending of course that he meets the requirements in full equality," Michael said, adding that he believes this move would give the army a chance to exhibit its openness to all citizens of Israel, and to display that equal opportunity is granted to all.

As Michael noted, his young student is bound to face the question of where his loyalties lie.

"I sincerely told him that there is the problem of loyalty. I told him that it would be hard to send an Arab to bombard other Arabs, whether in Gaza or in Lebanon," Michael said.

"But he said, 'I belong to the state of Israel, just try me and you'll see. I live in this country, and am willing to do what is required of me,'" Michael recalled.

Come on, Israel – for years you have talked the talk – now is the time to walk the walk.

Posted by: Greg at 11:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Had we not seen so much of her incompetence during the days around Hurricane Katrina, I would be unable to believe that even the governor of Louisiana could be so self-serving, insensitive, and wasteful with government resources while her people were in need.

Some members of the governor's staff will return from the three-day holiday on Tuesday to newly renovated offices at the State Capitol.

Shortly after the two hurricanes, Gov. Kathleen Blanco decided to renovate some of her staff's offices. At the time of her decision, Blanco also was hinting at deep budget cuts to state programs and the possibility of laying off 20 percent of the state workforce.

The project cost $564,838.

Given the condition in which the hurricane left your state, including the city of new Orleans, don't you think there might be a few other ways to spend over half-a-million dollars?

The newly refurbished office space on the sixth floor of the State Capitol includes hookups and mounts for two flat screen televisions, Swedish granite countertops, walnut paneling and frosted laminated glass. The floor, which will not be accessible to the public, was redesigned to add three new offices, a conference room and file storage areas.

About 20 members of the governor's staff – who focus on constituent services, children's issues, women's policies and other functions – will work on the newly restored floor

Well, twenty staff members will use the space. It isn't like there are displaced families living in temporary shelter who could use that money. It isn't like there are homes and businesses that need reconstruction. Your aides need fancy-schmancy offices right now. Screw the victims -- Louisiana's corrupt ruling class needs Swedish marble counter tops!

But at least your aides thought about not doing the project -- and then decided to move forward anyway.

Concerned about the perception of fixing up their office space while slashing others' spending, Jimmy Clarke, Blanco's chief of staff, said Friday the governor's top aides considered not fixing the 6th floor.

But the sixth floor project was bid six days before Hurricane Katrina came ashore near Buras on Aug. 29. Clarke said he became concerned that the state could be sued successfully if the restoration project were shut down.

"We certainly would not have initiated this work post-Katrina and Rita," Clarke said. "Given all that the state faces at this time, these renovations would be a very low priority."

Somehow I suspect that there might be language in the contract -- or in state law -- that might have allowed for the project to be terminated due to the situation that existed after Katrina. So tell me -- whose brother-in-law or cousin got the job? I mean, the governor was cutting and freezing elsewhere.

Restoration work began on the sixth floor Oct. 10, two weeks after Hurricane Rita struck Cameron on Sept. 24.

The week before work began, Blanco ordered a spending and hiring freeze to rein in state government expenses.

Three days after crews started tearing out the old offices, the administration announced that the state's budget would be about $1 billion short because of damages caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That day, Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc told a legislative finance committee that the budgets supplying money for public health care and education would need cuts of 20 percent or more and that more than 18,000 state employees would have to be laid off.

I'm glad we had the priorities straight -- office upgrades for the governor's staff certainly trump the students and teachers of Louisiana, as well as those who rely on public health programs. Heck -- I bet that a dozen state employees could have kept their jobs if your staff had just walked on older carpet or kept the space configured in the older fashion. After all, it had only been about twenty years since the last remodeling job.

Now there would have been a press uproar if a Republican administration had behaved in such a disgusting manner. I know that Democrats would have howled over such screwed-up priorities and wasteful spending by a GOP governor. I can't help but notice the relative silence here.

But not to worry -- I'm sure the staff of your Republican successor will appreciate teh fruits of your wasteful spending after your sorry Democrat ass is thrown out of office.

OTHER POSTS AT: Mover Mike, Louisiana Libertarian, You Are A Sissy-Man. The Old Curmudgeon, That Gay Conservative, EU Rota.

TRACKBACK TO: bRight & Early, Uncooperative Blogger, Stuck On Stupid, Wizbang.

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Looks like Reggie Bush will be plying his trade here in Space City, as the Houston Texans dropped their 14th game of the season to San Francisco.

The Texans had so much to lose if they won their season finale. They nearly did it anyway.

Instead, the San Francisco 49ers salvaged some pride in their own miserable season — and the Texans got on the clock for the NFL draft in April.

Mike Adams lateraled his second interception to Ben Emanuel for a 35-yard return in overtime, Joe Nedney kicked a 33-yard field goal with 3:52 left and the 49ers earned their first consecutive victories in more than two years with a 20-17 victory Sunday.

But after one last loss, fans of the Texans (2-14) might have felt like the real winners: Their franchise clinched the top pick. Houston now has the chance to choose Reggie Bush, the Heisman Trophy-winning tailback from USC who's widely expected to enter the draft.

"Whatever happens in this game, it won't have any effect on me," Bush said in Los Angeles, where he's preparing for Wednesday's Rose Bowl against Texas. "Obviously it will just (affect) who gets the first pick in the NFL draft. ... Like I said from Day 1, I won't be worried about it until after the season."

My wife and I spent much of the game speculating about possible trades of draft picks. After all, Domanick Davis is a good RB, and the receiver corps is acceptable. We need an offensive lineman -- and Virginia's D'Brickashaw Ferguson would fit the bill nicely, but probably shouldn't go in the first spot.

And sources close to the Texans are reporting that the long-expected firing of Dom Capers will happen tomorrow. But there is a surprise.

Coach Dom Capers' firing has been a foregone conclusion for weeks, but a highly placed team official said today that general manager Charley Casserly will return to the Texans and remain in charge of the personnel department. Capers' firing will be made official Monday morning and announced at an afternoon news conference at Reliant Stadium.

Speculation is swirling around possible head coaches for the Texans.

The Texans are expected to interview, among others, Washington assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams, Denver offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak, Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, Buffalo defensive coordinator Jerry Gray, Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and possibly New York Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis.

The Texans also are expected to interview one or two college head coaches with NFL experience.

I've also heard Wade Phillips mentioned, which would go over well with Houstonfans. After all, his dad was the Oiler's coach for years.

Posted by: Greg at 03:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Above Thy Deep and Dreamless SleepÂ… by Gates of Vienna, and The New, Updated, Alice In Wonderland by Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred.  Here is the link to the full results of the vote

Posted by: Greg at 02:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Certainly there was someone who could have used this surplus material -- homeless shelters or other programs.

One million cans of drinking water donated for hurricane relief have been emptied and recycled because the water was never used at Texas and Louisiana hurricane shelters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

FEMA hauled the 400,000 liters of water, or 18 truckloads, to a scrap-metal business in the Dallas area last month. The water was dumped into a sewer and the cans sent for recycling.

FEMA spokesman Don Jacks said the cans were given by Coca-Cola and other donors in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. After the evacuees left, the shelters gave the unused water to FEMA, which stored them at its Fort Worth regional distribution center.

"We didn't need it anymore," Jacks said.

In addition, expiration dates stamped on some of the 12-ounce, unpainted cans had expired, said Joe Perkins Jr., foreman of Lake June Scrap Metals.

Water doesn't spoil, but it can take on the taste of its container, said Ray Crockett, a spokesman for Coca-Cola. The company donated about 40 million drinks, mostly water, during the relief effort, he said.

I'd love to say that this is beyond belief -- but it isn't/ The surest way to foul up charity is to put government in charge.

Posted by: Greg at 02:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It seems we are preparing to deal with the Iranian nuclear program. Not is that the only one we need to take out.

First on Iran.

The United States government reportedly began coordinating with NATO its plans for a possible military attack against Iran.

The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel collected various reports from the German media indicating that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are examining the prospects of such a strike.

According to the report, CIA Director Porter Goss, in his last visit to Turkey on December 12, requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide military bases to the United States in 2006 from where they would be able to launch an assault.

The German news agency DDP also noted that countries neighboring Iran, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and Pakistan were also updated regarding the supposed plan. American sources sent to those countries apparently mentioned an aerial attack as a possibility, but did not provide a time frame for the operation.

Although Der Spiegel could not say that these plans were concrete, they did note that according to a January 2005 New Yorker report American forces had entered Iran in 2005 in order to mark possible targets for an aerial assault.

Given the comments of the Iranian president in recent weeks, it might not be a bad thing to have plans prepared. Especially when he continues to make comments like this.

Iran warned Sunday of a "crushing" response if its nuclear and military facilities are attacked by the United States or Israel.

Top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said, however, talk of such an attack most likely is "psychological warfare."

"Iran has prepared itself...they will get a crushing response if they make such a mistake," Larijani said on Iranian television late Sunday.

Larijani said Israel would "suffer greatly" if it launched an attack.

"If there is any truth in such talks, Israel will suffer greatly. It's a very small country within our range."

"Our (defence) preparedness is a deterrence," he said.

He also said a Russian proposal the two countries enrich uranium on Russian territory could not ignore Iran's right to carry out enrichment at home.

"It's not logical for a country to put the fate of its nation at the disposal of another country, even if it's a friend. You can meet part of your fuel needs from abroad."

"But is there a guarantee that nuclear fuel producers won't play with you over price or other things? History and experience show that if you don't have technology, you will damage your independence," he said.

So what we have is an anti-Semitic, Holocaust-denying regime making military threats against Israel and the US -- with US troops on its border. These folks are clearly nuts!.

But the North Korean threat cannot be ignored, either.

NORTH KOREA is working to restart a reactor that would produce enough plutonium to make 10 atomic bombs a year, a leading American nuclear scientist has revealed.

Siegfried Hecker, former director of the US governmentÂ’s top secret Los Alamos laboratory, also said the North Koreans reprocessed 8,000 fuel rods to make up to 14kg (30lb) of plutonium last summer, despite taking part in six-party talks hosted by China to end their weapons programme.

“They have the plutonium,” he said. “We have to assume the North Koreans can and have made a few nuclear devices.”

HeckerÂ’s revelations were based on information gleaned during two visits to North Korea, the last in August 2005, in which he met physicists and, in a pure moment from spy fiction, was handed a specimen of weapons-grade plutonium, stored in a marmalade jar.

His findings are being studied with increasing concern in Washington. North Korea further hardened its defiant stance this weekend by ending all United Nations food distribution to its people and by ordering out aid workers, including a British team from the charity Save the Children.

Thousands will be put at risk by the decision. The UNÂ’s World Food Programme had been feeding up to 6.4m of North KoreaÂ’s 23m people since the famine of the 1990s.

Diplomats believe the expulsions are part of a clampdown ordered by Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s “Dear Leader”, as he prepares to stand alongside Iran to confront the Americans over their right to have nuclear weapons.

Given the clear instability of the North Korean regime, actions will likelyhve to be taken to demilitarize the North Korean nuclear program. the problem is that the North Koreans have already violated agreements on the production of weapons-grade material more than once.

Will we see military actionon one or both fronts in 2006?

MORE AT Blogs for Bush

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I wish that this ban was enforced under penalty of law.

No up-or-down vote necessary: Everyone from persons of interest to first-time callers will agree that 2005 offered more than its share of irritating words and phrases.

Lake Superior State University on Saturday released its 2006 "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness." But please, don't call it "breaking news."

That and 16 other linguistic nuisances were selected by a university committee from among almost 2,000 nominations. The small academic outpost in the Upper Peninsula community of Sault Ste. Marie has been compiling the banned-words list since 1976 to attract publicity -- and certainly not to offer anyone "talking points."

The committee also targeted such gems as "hunker down," which it noted is used by media "in reports about everything from politics to hurricanes."

Also frequently heard on the news is "person of interest," a favorite of law enforcement agencies. Such a person is "seldom encountered at cocktail parties," the list's authors lamented.

From the field of education comes "community of learners."

"Not to be confused with 'school,'" one critic wrote.

Politics offered plenty of fodder. The committee cited "up-or-down vote," a phrase uttered often in 2005 by Republicans eager to see President Bush's judicial nominees move through the Senate without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

The committee also banished "FEMA," the acronym for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina were widely criticized as ineffective.

"If they don't do anything, we don't need their acronym," wrote Josh Hamilton, of Tucson, Ariz.

Many of the phrases banned this year are not new, but simply got under enough people's skin to finally deserve the dubious honor.

Miguel McCormick, of Orlando, Fla., was fed up with "first-time caller," a designation heard on talk radio.

"I am serious in asking: Who in any universe gives a care?" he asked.

The school has banned nearly 800 words over the years, including "metrosexual" (2004), "chad" (2001), "baby boomers" (1989) and "detente" (1976).

For the complete list, click here.

Personally, I'd support the banning of a particularly annoying line from a commercial for a particularly annoying show about a particularlydisturbing guy named Earl -- "Wakey-wakey, hands off snakey!"

Posted by: Greg at 10:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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